Why isn't the word Catholic in the bible Why did Catholics add books to the bible when the book of Revelations warn against it?

Answer 1

The Bible is made up of the Old Testament (book of the Jews) which wasn't changed - and writings about Jesus time/life that the Catholic Church selected from many, many writings of the day (some from about 50 years after Jesus death) which they called the New Testament.

They didn't ADD any books - merely decided which writings would be included in the New Testament and compiled the book we now know as "The Bible" in western society. They're not mentioned because it is a compilation of events/writings many (100's) years prior to the existence of the Catholic Church.

The Great Command of Mission work demanded that the apostles "go into all the World and preach the gospel". There are different translations and different languages and concepts which do not literally translate . for example the (not a religious one) the motto of the Corps of Engineers is the French word (Essayons)- which should be translated as a phrase- We Can Work It Out!) which figures in a Beatles song. There are differences in grammar and syntax, punctuation, etc in different languages. Even in familiar tongue the French word for (Girl) is a noun clause- Jeune Fille- lit Youg Girl and (Girl) by itself is not used. The linguists, let alone the bible translator"s lot is not an easy one. thus the differing word count, etc. the Catholic church considers portions of the apocrypha canonical as do the Episcopalians. I knew of a case of somebody (in a blue collar plant) who stole a bible- he never was caught just on the assumption (no pun intended) Nobody would do such a thing. it happened in l969 and was an Episcopal tome.

Correction of the above answer:

The 'historic fact' that the Bible was made 150-300 years after the events is true only by the fact that it was that period when it was compiled into one book.

In the New Testament, the first letters of Paul date from around 50AD - around just 20 years after the events. Two of the gospels (Matthew and John) were written by eyewitnesses to the events , Mark was written by another associate of the 12, and Luke written by a person who knew Peter, another eyewitness, well - and all written less than 50 years after the events.

Correction of the guy in caps- Catholics pray THROUGH Mary, they ask that she might intercede with God on their behalf. Concerning the "extra" books in the Catholic Bible, Martin Luther, who began the protestant reformation in Europe, removed the books he did not agree with. (see related link)

To add some more

The Revelation quote refers to the book of Revelation. A similar admonition is made in the Old Testament. There have been arguments about the canonical status of certain Old and New Testament books for some time - before the council of Rome and during the protestant formation. The Catholic Church decreed a 73 book canon at the council of Rome in 382 AD, that has never changed. She chose books that did not contradict the oral tradition handed down that Paul tells us to hold onto (2 Thes 2:15). This council is where Christians got the New Testament canon. The Church has not added books to the Bible.

Nowadays most Jews have a 25 book canon, some though do included the 7 books in Catholic Bibles removed by protestants, and at the time of Christ the Sadducee's for example only considered the Law (the first 5 books) canonical.

Catholics have only one God - made of three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Him alone do they worship. Catholics do not worship Mary, to say so shows how academically inept one is.

One Catholic apologist pointed out the following...

Acts 9:31 (Greek)

ἡ μεν ουν εκκλησια καθ᾽ὁλης της ιουδαιας και γαλιλαιας και σαμαρειας ειχεν ειρηνην οικοδομουμενη και πορευομενη τω φοβω του κυριου, και τη παρακλησει του ἁγιου πνευματος επληθυνοντο.

Act 9:31 (Transliteration)

aye men oon ekklaysiaye kath olays tays ioodayeas kaye galilayeas kaye samarayas aycon ayraynayn oikodomoomenaye kaye poryoomenaye tow fobow too kurioo kaye tay paraklaysay too agioo pnyoomatos eplaythunonto (http://www.russ.org/gtb/luke.html#a9)

Acts 9:31

So the Church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was built up; and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit it was multiplied.

From this text, we can see the Greek word "kath olays" which is rendered "Catholic" in modern English and the word "ekklaysiaye" which becomes "ecclesia" in English and is commonly translated as "church".

εκκλησια καθ᾽ ὁλης = ekklaysiaye kath olays = "the church throughout all" = the catholic church in the greater sense of the church of Christ and not the Church of Rome.

Possibly a final wordThe Bible as we know it was compiled (not written) by the Church. In those days, despite some breakaway groups that were heretical, 'the Church' reflected the Greek as stated above - kath olays. However, the previous contributor did not mention that the actual meaning of kath olays is 'Universal' as the Roman Catholic Church, as we know it today, did not exist in those times , but was simply the ' Universal Church'. Until the Great Schism where the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church schismed (separated) from each other, and the Reformation, when the Protestant Church was formed, the universal church was the only Christian denomination and so could be called the catholic (ie universal, and catholic with a small 'c') church. To equate that term with the modern Roman Catholic Church is erroneous. The modern Roman Catholic Church literally means the part of the universal Church that accepts the Pope's jurisdiction and rule from Rome. The rest of the catholic ('universal') church do not accept the Pope as head of the Church, but have their own heirarchical structures.

So, in a sense, the word 'catholic' IS in the Bible as kath olays but its meaning is the 'universal' church rather than any specific denomination. As for Roman Catholic (with a large 'C'), this is not included in the Bible as the Roman Catholic Church did not exist as we know it today until the Schism.

Whilst the Roman Catholic Church today has many idiosyncrasies that are not shared with the rest of the Christian Church they remain a wholesome part of the Christian Church worldwide and have the same main, core, beliefs of the Trinity, Christ's divinity and so on, as the rest of the Christian Church. The suggestion made that they somehow have two 'gods' in God and Mary is very dangerous. Whilst many Protestant Churches regard the over-adulation of Mary as a problem, Roman Catholics will argue that they worship God alone, and any veneration of Mary as Christ's mother (and, hence the "Mother of God") is not worship but veneration and respect. To suggest to a Roman Catholic that they actually 'worship' Mary as God is deeply offensive.

Finally, the Roman Catholics did not 'add' books to the Bible as the Roman Catholic Church did not exist as such in those times. However the catholic (small 'c') or universal Church DID compile all the books from what they regarded as scripture, and from the list of possible books that had sufficient providence to be regarded as reliable and trustworthy accounts. That is why, for the most part, all denominations use more or less the same Bible today, whether Roman Catholic or not. Whilst there are some differences (eg in what Roman Catholics and the rest regard as secondary scriptures such as the apocrypha) the important areas of scripture (eg the gospels and Paul's letters) are identical throughout the Christian Church.

Universal Church is that in union with the Bishop of Rome

In the writings of the fathers e.g. Ireneaus (who was taught by Polycarp who was taught by St John), the Bishop of Rome had primacy above the other bishops. The Orthodox and Protestants broke away from the Bishop of Rome and thus broke away from the universal Church, the pillar and foundation of truth (1 Tim 3:15), which was instituted by Christ.

The Bishop of Rome (nickname papa/pope) proceeds from Peter, their argument goes, who was made the Rock (Cephas Jn 1:42) by Christ on which the Church would be built (Mt 16:18) , with Peter ending his days in Rome (aka Babylon) thus why the Primacy of Rome.

The Catholic Church as an insult was called the Roman catholic church by British Protestants who reject the primacy of the Bishop of Rome. The so called Roman Catholic Church, is in truth, Catholics claim, the Catholic (i.e. universal) Church and dates back to the first Pentecost

At the council of Rome in 382 AD the Bishop of Rome, Damascus, officially decreed the Biblical Canon.